Helping Your Pet Maintain Weight Through the Holiday Season

  Posted on December 18, 2011  by Joy of Living  No comments

With the holiday season, we and our pets can tend to eat more and exercise less, leading to weight gain. Obesity is not good for anyone, human or animal.  When it affects a pet, it can be quite unhealthy and dangerous.

What are the reasons for a pudgy pet?  The answer rests in too much food intake and too little exercise.  Pet owners can be too eager to please and often cannot resist that cute little face that is begging for more food or treats.  The food intake of a dog is seldom accurately monitored.

What the human counterparts need to do is to control the pet’s unsatiable appetite in an effort to reduce its girth.  The pet also needs to engage in some extra exercise.  (It probably would be of equal benefit to the human to get out and take a brisk walk with the dog, too!)

For dogs, a steady weight loss of 15% over a two to three month period is good.  Aim for a loss of one ot one and a half pounds per week for the dog.

Encourage more playtime with your pet.  Stick to a fun routine that while take his mind off of food.  Just like humans need a diversion from their weaknesses, so do pets!

When your pet’s weight is at a normal level, he will feel better, have more energy, and be happier.  Life will certainly be more enjoyable to him.